Lynness: December and onward, and a radio show you might want to try

Mim, I never did read that story- I checked our library system and
it does not own a copy, and I dislike reading on the computer screen.
Besides all that I had to stop everything I was reading for about 2 1/2
weeks to get through Isaiah's Christmas Party (sorry "Winter Party"!!!)
at school (I'm room parent), making gifts (I made 18 items this year),
getting things ready to send off to the the Left Coast (as my dad calls
it) and getting Ruth through a very nasty cold and ensuing double ear
infection.
Anyway, so once Christmas was over I started where I left off around
the first week of December. I finished "Seeing Voices" (about ASL and
the Deaf) and "An Anthropologist on Mars" and am currently reading
"Uncle Tungsten," all by Oliver Sacks. This is generating a lot of
discussion with Nathan, who has recently started listening to "Radio
Lab," a show on a New York NPR station he gets over the net. They cover
topics from "Sleep" to "Mortality" to "Time," etc., and have guest
speakers, one of whom was Oliver Sacks!! I want to start listening, but
I don't think my connection will do it. If you are interested- and I
think some of you will be (I'm getting to know you all better through
this, too! Especially how much I have in common with Abby), just Google
radio lab.
As far as immigrant nonfiction, I don't have any personal
recommendations, but I'll keep my eye out...perhaps I'll try something
about the present immigration issues as my January read.

Rae: January Read

I hope you each enjoyed your "break" from the assigned book in December and that you were able to find something fun and new to read. I have set a goal to read A Christmas Carol sometime this spring...I never got a round to it in December. But Mim inspired me to read it anyway!

I recently came across a great quote by the Prophet Joseph. He referred to the "veil of stupidity" over the earth. He was probably talking about spiritual things, but the longer I live the more evidence there is of intellectual stupidity too! Way too much apathy and indifference to what is going on around us.

Anyone as election-fatigued as I am? Things should start to really get interesting next week when the primaries actually start and all the posturing by the candidates might truly mean something. It is actually a fascinating and somewhat inspired process, though, and we should be paying attention to it all. We should value our ability to vote and participate in the electoral process.

Your assignment in January is to read a non-fiction title (here's your chance, Liz) having to do with current affairs. Your options are many. Choose an area you don't know much about and go forth and learn. Let us know what you choose and what you discover!

Happy New Year and happy reading to you all!

Rae: Shotguns and Submarines

I spent the month of December reading a bunch of Louis L'Amour western novels so that I could pass them on to my father-in-law for Christmas. He asked if I had any around the house (if he only knew!) and I was able to scrounge up a dozen or so for him. We had an enjoyable Christmas in Coronado. It was great to see the ocean again and to be in a little warmer weather. I was able to walk every day (and somehow I found myself at the local bookstore at one end of those walks...) and the boys (we had Duran with us) were able to shoot and fish and relax. I missed the snow in Payson, though. It didn't really seem like Christmas without it!

With Duran here, the conversation turned to his nuclear assignment on board the attack submarine Norfolk. He got me interested in a couple three books. One is a history of submarine espionage. Another is about the first nuclear accident (which happened in Idaho Falls). And the third is The Hunt for Red October, which I have seen many times on film but have never read before (that I remember, at least). So I've been knee deep in shotguns and submarines this month.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you are rejuvenated for the new year. I love a new year...new lists, new routines, new goals, and renewed hope and faith. We are blessed simply to be alive!

Happy reading!

Mim/Mom: Christmas Reads & Book Suggestions for Maddie?

Hi My Dears---I'm reporting back about my Christmas reads.  Lynness, did you read that short story, "The Mansion?"  I didn't really enjoy it and I wondered why President Monson reads it over and over!  The characters seemed so flat after reading A Christmas Carol (and Dickens is great at characterization anyway).  The message seemed kind of trite--basically, you get a tiny mansion in heaven if your focus on earth is your earthly mansion.

 
So I talked about A Christmas Carol in my other December post.  But Dickens' The Life of Our Lord was a nice little surprise.  A sweet little book but I don't know if any of you would get very excited about it.  He does have a gift for writing simply, in a way his children would've been enchanted with.  He had ten children!  Anyhow, the best thing about the book is the two letters at the end, which President Hinckley quotes from, where Dickens teaches his children, "Remember!  True Christianity is TO DO GOOD always . . ."
 
Here's a question for everyone:  What can you recommend for Maddie on the topic of immigrants to America?  She's been reading about this in her history text this week and she said it was the first time in forever that she'd been excited about something she's learning at school (other than Spanish and Japanese).  She hasn't even been as enthused this year about reading in general.  So I want to give her some titles and "strike while the iron's hot" to encourage her.  I did a Google search but without any personal recommendations the selections offered are just unknowns.  Anyone know some good ones?  Nonfiction, of course, and not too scholarly.  She would like it to be narrative, to read like a story.  Says she wants to read about the clashes of culture and about the hardships people overcame . . . Thanks for your answers . . .
 
Merry Christmas and I love you all!  Lynness, I feel like I'm getting to know lots about you thru this blog!  And Samantha, are you still out there?  Or are you spending all your time writing instead of reading?  One day we'll all be reading a Samantha Weigel book together, no?  Love, MIM
 
 

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Abby: Jasper Fforde

Aaah! That's so COOL! I thought he was done and was so sad. I'm glad you've read them too! I'll think of some more fiction and get back to you.

Lynness: Been there, read that

Actually, there's now five books! The newest is "First Among Sequels"
which showed up at the library a few weeks ago and I picked it up ass
soon as I saw it. I own the first 2. Any other picks? Thanks!

Abby: Fiction for L ynness

Lynness, I forgot that you had asked about favorite fiction authors. I loved Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series. The first book is called The Eyre Affair. Aunt Rae introduced me to the series. There are four books...and I have three which I want to mail to Beccy for her to read, but I could mail them to you and then you could mail them to her I bet. Beccy, are you anxious to get those soon or could I send them to Lynness first? We haven't talked about them for quite some time.

There is some language in the series. BUT, it doesn't happen often. I remember most that one of the later books has one word in particular which is repeated a few times within a few pages, which was strange. In the books I have from Aunt Rae, most of them have been crossed out with permanent marker.

Anyway...if you're interested let me know.